Training A Difficult Dog - How To Deal With Separation Anxiety and High Prey Drive !

As a professional dog trainer, I am always amazed at what I learn from the dogs I am schooling.

One of our dogs came to us with over the top, completely out of control behavior when she spotted a squirrel or cat in motion. Utilizing every tool in my kit, I finally found great success by taking this little gal all the way back to square one, and utilizing low level stimulation and warm praise to distract her from her obsession with small beasts. I have certification in e-Touch Training as taught by Martin Deeley, and have relied heavily on my experience with this training modality to help this OCD-ish dog. She has had a sordid past and virtually no training whatsoever in her three short years of life. By breaking the training down to tiny, clear steps and maintaining calm, patient persistence, she is coming along so well now ! She has taught me not to give up even if the first 100 or so approaches haven't yet worked ! This little gal has been bounced around so much - everyone who had her as either a potential companion pet or as a training client gave up on her ! But I am a nose-to-the-grindstone sort, and "doggedly" kept at it. Well - her world has been topsy-turvied, and she is blossoming under a regular schedule of challenging mental work, physical exercise and rest. Once the appropriate tweaks were made, she quickly and comfortably took to the routine I created for her, and she is a different doggie ! Many thanks to my training mentor, Heather Beck, for hosting her 3-D Seminar (Dealing With Difficult Dogs) ! Training this little girl challenged me to dig very deep and create a program that would work for her and all of her idiosyncracies. I will keep you all posted on her progress !

Separation Anxiety has been touted as one of the most challenging behaviors for a trainer. A recent client took my advice and began crating her dog Honey, and much to my client's astonishment, Honey is doing great ! Along with crating, there are so many things that you can do to achieve both peace of mind for yourself and a happy, self-confident dog who is perfectly content to be home alone. If you are facing this issue, go ahead and give me a call - you can find my contact information on my website calmk9.net. I'd be happy to hear from you and give you a few pointers on how to transform your Nervous Nellie into a Happy Honey !

Still working on getting that camera fixed - pictures will soon be up !

Thanks so much for visiting !

Autumn Is A Busy Time At Calm K9 Behavioral Dog Training !

Hooray ! Our move to Port Costa is finally complete ! My personal items are still mostly in boxes, of course, but the dogs are cozily ensconced in their new digs, with all of their canine accoutrement at the ready ! As expected, they have adapted to their new home beautifully, and we have been taking full advantage of everything this area has to offer - miles and miles of trails, a large fenced grassy meadow just down the street, bayside strolls, and a variety of distractions which are great for training purposes. Port Costa is not what you would call a bustling metropolis, but our little downtown area does provide some interesting challenges, especially on the weekends when the biker dudes roar down the main stem on their Harleys and converge at The Warehouse. Lots of people, lots of action, lots of training opportunities !

In addition to Cowboy, we have taken in two dogs who come from divergent, less than ideal circumstances. Yang, a little Pit Bull mix, began life with a homeless man in the City, and, after being bounced around for the better part of two years, a small group of us saved her from euthanasia at the eleventh hour. She is thriving under our Hard Core Rehabilitative Program and is quickly advancing through our training regimen. Yang's biggest challenge is her over the top prey drive ! Anything small and in motion sets her off ! However, we've made some significant inroads into modifying this behavior, and her progress is really exciting !

Sparky lived in a beautiful home with a large family, but he was not suited to their lifestyle. A 7 year old Border Collie, he spent much of his time in a small, enclosed laundry room, or outside, unsupervised, in the backyard - his weekly routine consisted of escaping from the yard and running wildly around the streets - yikes ! Long story short, I adopted him from the family and he joins Yang in our Hard Core Rehabilitative Program. In less than one week, Sparky has morphed from an out of control, whining, anxious dog into one who is much calmer, attentive and relaxed. He is an angel - so smart, sensitive and lively ! We don't have any sheep around here, so I can't wait to get him involved in some agility activities - if ever a dog needed a job.....

Several new clients have come our way recently, and we have thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and working with their dogs - from Akitas to Goldens to Hounds ! Many thanks to all of our new two and four legged friends !

Will post more photos soon - my camera has decided to go on the fritz !